Sustainable development: 22 French institutions in the THE Impact ranking

Since 2019, the THE Impact Ranking builds up an international, original and unique ranking assessing how higher education institutions comply with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations. The THE ranking measures the actions made by universities to develop these objectives, both in their programmes and their governance or in more general initiatives. 

22 French institutions in the general ranking

Since its creation, the number of participants to the ranking by subject of the THE went from 467 institutions in 2019 to 1,115 in 2021, to reach 1,524 universities and schools from 110 countries in 2022.

Even though at global level the Top 3 of the general ranking is generally led by Australia, the United States and Canada, France saw 22 of its institutions awarded for their compliance with the SDGs. They include, in the general ranking:

• The University of Montpellier, first French University (ranking: between 101 and 200);
• The University of Aix-Marseille (between 201 and 300);
• The École nationale supérieure Mines-Télécom Atlantique - IMT Atlantique (between 201 between 300);
• The University of Paris Sciences et Lettres (between 201 and 300);
• The University of Bordeaux (between 301 and 400);
• The Institut Mines-Telecom Business School, a school of engineering and management (between 301 and 400);
• The University of Nantes (between 301 and 400);

Then come (between 401 and 600):

• The Ecole centrale de Nantes and Lyon;
• The Ecole des Mines de Saint-Etienne;
• The EM Lyon Business School;
• The IMT Nord-Europe (Lille-Douai) and IMT d’Alès;
• The INSA of Lyon;
• Sorbonne Université.

Further down the ranking (between rank 601 and 1,000) are EDHEC Business School, KEDGE Business School (Bordeaux), Université Rennes 1, Université CY (Cergy), Université Polytechnique des Hauts-de-France (Valenciennes), Panthéon-Sorbonne Université (Paris 1), and ENSTA de Bretagne.

Calibrated indicators

To be included in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, institutions must provide their own data on Goal 17 of the SDGs (partnerships for achieving the goals) and freely choose three additional goals. In addition to these inputs, the ranking uses bibliometric data and other indicators, which are “carefully calibrated”, according to THE, to provide “comprehensive and balanced comparisons” in four broad areas: 

• research on sustainable development topics in the institution;
• stewardship of the institution (physical resources, staffing, governance)
• outreach, i.e. the quality of the institution’s partnership with other institutions (local, regional, national and international communities) in regards with these themes, a critical ranking factor according to THE;
• teaching on the SDG themes, both the teaching provided for students and what remains of this teaching among alumni so that they “integrate key sustainability lessons into their future careers”.